Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A texture method comprising: creating a sparse texture residency translation map, wherein said sparse texture residency translation map indicates a minimum resident LOD; performing a probe process in a computing system utilizing said sparse texture residency translation map to return a finest LOD that contains the texels for a texture lookup operation, wherein a sparse texture residency translation map includes one finest LOD number per tile of a sparse texture and said finest LOD number indicates a minimum resident LOD; and performing said texture lookup operation utilizing said finest LOD.
A texture processing method involves creating a sparse texture residency translation map. This map indicates the minimum level of detail (LOD) that is resident in memory for each tile of a sparse texture. A probe process uses this map to determine the finest (most detailed) LOD that contains the texels needed for a texture lookup operation. The texture lookup operation then uses this finest LOD to access the texture data.
2. A texture method of claim 1 wherein said finest LOD is utilized as a minimum LOD clamp during said texture lookup operation.
The texture processing method described above where a sparse texture residency translation map indicates a minimum resident level of detail (LOD) and the texture lookup operation uses the finest LOD, utilizes the finest LOD as a minimum LOD clamp during the texture lookup operation. This means the texture lookup will only access texture data at or above the determined level of detail, potentially improving performance and memory usage.
3. A texture method of claim 1 wherein said probe process comprises: receiving texture coordinates; forming a footprint of a texture filter within said sparse texture residency translation map; and performing a maximum operation on finest LOD numbers within said footprint of said texture filter.
The texture processing method described above where a sparse texture residency translation map indicates a minimum resident level of detail (LOD) and the texture lookup operation uses the finest LOD, includes a probe process that: receives texture coordinates for the lookup; determines the area (footprint) of the texture filter within the sparse texture residency translation map; and performs a maximum operation to find the highest minimum resident LOD number within that footprint.
4. A texture method of claim 1 wherein said sparse texture residency translation map is utilized to translate a desired LOD into a minimum resident LOD.
The texture processing method described above where a sparse texture residency translation map indicates a minimum resident level of detail (LOD) and the texture lookup operation uses the finest LOD, utilizes the sparse texture residency translation map to translate a desired level of detail (LOD) into a minimum resident LOD. This allows the system to determine the lowest LOD available in memory for a given texture region.
5. A texture method of claim 1 wherein said sparse texture residency translation map corresponds to a MIP-mapped texture.
The texture processing method described above where a sparse texture residency translation map indicates a minimum resident level of detail (LOD) and the texture lookup operation uses the finest LOD, uses a sparse texture residency translation map that corresponds to a MIP-mapped texture. Each level of the MIP map can have different residency, and the translation map tracks the minimum resident LOD for each tile.
6. A texture method of claim 1 wherein said probe process determines the maximum of the minimum resident LODs.
The texture processing method described above where a sparse texture residency translation map indicates a minimum resident level of detail (LOD) and the texture lookup operation uses the finest LOD, uses a probe process determines the maximum of the minimum resident LODs. This process finds the highest (coarsest) minimum LOD within the filter footprint in the sparse texture residency translation map.
7. A texture method of claim 6 wherein said maximum of said minimum resident LODs is utilized as said minimum clamp for said texture lookup operation.
The texture processing method described above where a sparse texture residency translation map indicates a minimum resident level of detail (LOD), the texture lookup operation uses the finest LOD, and a probe process determines the maximum of the minimum resident LODs, uses this maximum minimum resident LOD as the minimum clamp for the texture lookup operation. This ensures that the texture lookup only accesses texels that are actually resident in memory.
8. A texture method of claim 1 wherein said probe process tracks tiles that would have been used if a minimum LOD clamp is not utilized.
The texture processing method described above where a sparse texture residency translation map indicates a minimum resident level of detail (LOD) and the texture lookup operation uses the finest LOD, uses a probe process that also tracks which tiles would have been used if a minimum LOD clamp were not applied. This allows the system to gather information about texture access patterns.
9. A texture method of claim 8 wherein said probe process tracks said tiles utilizing a usage feedback map that includes one bit per tile, wherein said bit indicates whether said tile would have been touched by said texture lookup.
The texture processing method described above where a sparse texture residency translation map indicates a minimum resident level of detail (LOD), the texture lookup operation uses the finest LOD, a probe process tracks which tiles would have been used if a minimum LOD clamp were not applied, tracks these tiles using a usage feedback map. This map includes one bit per tile, where the bit indicates whether that tile would have been accessed during the texture lookup.
10. A texture method comprising: performing a probe process in a computing system if a not resident indication is true, wherein said probe process returns a finest LOD that contains the texels for a second texture lookup operation, wherein said probe process utitilizes a sparse texture residency translation map includes one finest LOD number per tile of a sparse texture and said finest LOD number indicates a minimum resident LOD; and performing a following texture lookup operation utilizing said finest LOD as a minimum LOD clamp.
A texture processing method involves first performing a probe process if a "not resident" indication is true. This probe process returns the finest (most detailed) LOD containing needed texels for a second, later texture lookup operation. The probe process uses a sparse texture residency translation map. This map includes one finest LOD number per tile of a sparse texture, where the finest LOD number indicates a minimum resident LOD. Finally, the following texture lookup operation uses this finest LOD as a minimum LOD clamp.
11. A texture method of claim 10 further comprising performing a leading texture lookup operation capable of returning said not resident indication if said texture is not resident.
The texture processing method described above where the probe process returns the finest LOD and the texture lookup uses it as a clamp includes performing a leading texture lookup operation capable of returning a "not resident" indication if the texture data is not resident in memory. This first lookup determines if the data needs to be brought into memory before the full probe and texture lookup are executed.
12. A texture method of claim 10 wherein said not resident indication is a flag.
The texture processing method described above where the probe process returns the finest LOD and the texture lookup uses it as a clamp with a leading texture lookup that checks for residency, defines the "not resident" indication to be a simple flag. This flag is set or cleared depending on whether the texture data is present in memory.
13. A texture method of claim 10 wherein results of said probe process are utilized for multiple texture lookup operations.
The texture processing method described above where the probe process returns the finest LOD and the texture lookup uses it as a clamp includes, results of the probe process are utilized for multiple texture lookup operations. Instead of performing the probe repeatedly, the results of one probe can be reused for several lookups that access the same or nearby texels.
14. A texture method comprising: dividing a texture into a large number of identically sized tiles in a first memory space; and mapping a subset of said tiles to a second memory space; determining a minimum LOD clamp; and performing a texture lookup of information in a non-transitory storage medium utilizing said minimum LOD clamp.
A texture processing method involves dividing a texture into many identically sized tiles in a first memory space (e.g., virtual memory) and then mapping a subset of these tiles to a second memory space (e.g., physical memory). The method determines a minimum level of detail (LOD) clamp and performs a texture lookup in a non-transitory storage medium using this minimum LOD clamp.
15. A texture method of claim 14 wherein said subset is a sparse subset of tiles within said texture.
The texture processing method described above which divides a texture into tiles, maps a subset of the tiles to a second memory space, and uses a minimum LOD clamp for texture lookup, uses a subset of tiles is a sparse subset of the tiles within the texture. This means that not all tiles are resident in the second memory space; only a portion are loaded as needed.
16. The texture method of claim 14 wherein said determining said minimum LOD clamp utilizes a subset texture translation map.
The texture processing method described above which divides a texture into tiles, maps a subset of the tiles to a second memory space, and uses a minimum LOD clamp for texture lookup, determines the minimum LOD clamp utilizing a subset texture translation map. This map stores information about which tiles are resident and the minimum LOD for each tile.
17. The texture method of claim 14 wherein said minimum LOD clamp is the finest LOD that contains texels needed for said texture lookup.
The texture processing method described above which divides a texture into tiles, maps a subset of the tiles to a second memory space, and uses a minimum LOD clamp for texture lookup, defines the minimum LOD clamp is the finest (most detailed) level of detail that contains the texels needed for the texture lookup. This ensures the lookup accesses the most detailed available data.
18. A texture method of claim 14 wherein said first memory space is a virtual memory space and said second memory space is a physical memory space.
The texture processing method described above which divides a texture into tiles, maps a subset of the tiles to a second memory space, and uses a minimum LOD clamp for texture lookup, defines the first memory space as a virtual memory space and the second memory space as a physical memory space. The virtual memory space represents the entire texture, while the physical memory space holds only the resident tiles.
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October 14, 2014
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